The myth is that somehow packing out your TP is beneficial to the environment. The studies I've read indicate that TP breaks down really quickly and is indistinguishable from the surrounding soil within a year or so.

The other myth is that animals are attracted to the salts in feces and will dig up TP to get at the salts. If that were true of course, animals would be digging up the fecal matter just as often as they dug up TP. Neither in fact occurs, at least in California (maybe it does elsewhere although I've never heard of it actually being documented).

In short, there's no reason not to bury your TP, assuming you do a reasonable job of it (bury it approx. 6" deep).

The foregoing does not apply to high traffic areas like Whitney or Shasta where I can more or less understand the requirement for Wag-Bags. What I'm saying only applies to areas where it's appropriate to bury your poop. If you're in an area where it's appropriate to bury your poop, there's no valid science based reason to pack out your TP.

Jim, i disagree, at least for desert areas. Toilet paper lasts a long time in the desert. Also re animals digging up human poop, they do. There are places in the Anza-Borrego desert i often camp. I poop in a shallow hole, cover it, and take the TP. Often on returning to the same camp months later i will find my poo has been dug up. Maybe in a rain forest you can leave TP but not in arid So Cal.

I'm basing my statements on a study done in Australia that found that TP buried approximately 15cm (~6") deep in even very dry soils was indistinguishable from its surroundings in about a year. Certain "feminine products" lasted longer, but even those were indistinguishable after 2 years.

That said, I don't have your experience in the desert. So, do you pack out your poop in the desert?